FRIEDRICH GULDA was born in 1930 in Vienna, where he studied piano with Bruno Seidlhofer and composition with Joseph Marx. In 1946, at only sixteen years of age, he won the first prize at the Geneva International Competition, beginning an incredible career that has taken him to stages all over the world. He is distinguished by his virtuosity, appreciated for his clear and dynamic performance of Bach, for his intellectual conception of Mozart, for his unforgettable Beethoven cycles as well as for his own compositions, testimonies of an intelligent and enthusiastic mind. He was a challenging, anti-star-system figurehead with no boundaries and no agenda, and was only willing to ‘make’ good music. It was he who elevated jazz to the status of ‘serious’ music, and it was also he who, with all the perfection of his art, led a diligent and persistent struggle for the rediscovery and recognition of the improvisational element in music. His compositions include Galgenlieder for baritone and two pianos, Concerto for Cello and Wind Instruments, Concerto for Ursula and Concerto for Myself. He died on 27 January 2000 in Weissenbach.